7th Edition of The Transgasgogne, 24 Jul – 4 Aug

Scarcely two months before the start of the Mini-Transat, The Transgasgogne has become an indispensable qualifying race in the Mini circuit as well as a test for those who aspire to the solo offshore racing circuit. Past winners include Thomas Coville and Yvan Bourgnon. The race starts from Port Bourgenay and the fleet have a 450 mile crossing over the Golf of Gascogne to Gijon in Spain. The second leg takes them back to Port Bourgenay.

57 competitors are entered in this 7th edition, both single and double-handed, in either Prototype or Serie boats. The prologue race on 24th July was won by Yannick BESTAVEN in ‘Ares Diffusion’ (Proto) and Antoine DEBLED in ‘Fimatex’ (Serie). After Sunday’s start, gaps in the fleet only became apparent passing Ile d’Yeu at around 11.30pm, where Englishman Peter Heppel in ‘Reality’ and Lionel Lemonchois in ‘Mecenat Chirurgie Cardiaque’ were the clear race leaders.

Peter Heppel, Erwan Tabarly and Arnaud Boissière passed Belle-Ile at 7.45am Monday, leaving quite a distance between them and their pursuers.